Advanced ultra-high strength steels (A-UHSS) are revolutionizing both the steel and automotive industries, therefore it is imperative to study their hot plastic deformation behavior and modeling. The flow characteristics of all hot forming processes consist basically of two competitive phenomena: strain hardening and softening due to dynamic mechanisms (recovery and/or recrystallization). In this research work, the softening parameter was determined in a low carbon A-UHSS microalloyed steel with different amounts of boron (0, 14 and 214 ppm). Experimental stress–strain data of uniaxial hot-compression tests at different temperatures (950, 1000, 1050 and 1100 °C) and strain rates (10–3, 10–2 and 10–1 s–1) were used. The stress–strain relationships as a function of temperature and strain rate were described on the basis of the Estrin, Mecking, and Bergström model. The experimental values of the softening parameter Ω were adjusted using the least-squares method. In general, the results reveal that the softening parameter increases with increasing boron content.

Single step synthesis of monophase CuSbS2 thin films by electro-deposition in ionic liquid electrolyte based on choline chloride and urea (ChCl:U) eutectic mixture is described. The formation of binary CuxS and SbxSy film phases using CuCl2 and SbCl3 precursors along with Na2S2O3 as sulfur source in ChCl:U are established as -0.59 V and -0.36 V vs. Pt, respectively by cyclic voltammetry and used to optimize CuSbS2 thin films growth potential and precursor composition. CuSbS2 films deposited at -0.65 V vs Pt with 1:1 Cu to Sb precursor ratio at 80⁰C are highly crystalline in chalcostibite orthorhombic structure. Deviant Cu/Sb ratio at 1:0.71 and 1:1.4 reveal inclusion of Cu3SbS3 and Sb2S3, respectively. Direct 1.65 eV band gap for single phase CuSbS2 film and with inclusive secondary phases at 1.73±0.1 eV and 2.13 eV is observed. As-deposited CuSbS2 films are p-type and n-p hetero-junction device in the n-ZnO/p-CuSbS2/Ag structure shows rectifying I-V curves and dependence on the CuSbS2 film growth conditions.

In this article, we review our recent structural studies on chalcogenide glass systems, Gex Se1-x and Asx Se1-x , using anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) in combination with reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling. We show to what extent the present AXS + RMC works are effective to solve the long lasting topics in these chalcogenide glasses, such as the validity of the 8-N bonding rule, the relation to the rigidity percolation theory, the validity of chemical order, and the origin of prepeak.

The polyaniline (PANI) and regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HTr) are polymers synthesized easily, can be deposited as a film by various techniques, are materials that exhibit a variety of colors to go through oxidation processes and reduction by applying an external potential, both polymers have an immediate response rate of color. The electrochemical behavior of the PANI and P3HTr is complementary, that is, if a positive potential to the device is applied, the PANI film is oxidized while the P3HTr film is reduced, on the other hand, if a negative potential is applied, the PANI film is reduced while the P3HTr film is oxidized. Both films in its redox process are clarified and obscured at the same time, this color change provides a significant difference in optical transmittance on a dual electrochromic device (DED's).

In this research, regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) was synthesized and characterized, films were deposited by spin-coating and dip-coating techniques. Polyaniline films were deposited by chemical bath and spin-coating techniques. Dual electrochromic devices based on P3HTr and PANI were prepared. The devices were studied by UV-vis spectroscopy at three different voltages: 1.4 V, 0 V and -1.4 V, optical kinetic tests were also performed at 550 nm applying a positive potential (1.4 V) and negative (-1.4 V). The results indicated the wavelength where both (PANI and P3HT) reach the greatest difference in transmittance. The influence of deposit type of polymer films on electrochromic response was determined.

The long-wavelength quantum efficiency (QE) response of photovoltaic absorbers is determined by the length scales for minority carrier collection. However, extracting quantitative measurements of minority carrier mobility-lifetime product (μτ) is complicated by uncertainty in other factors such as the depletion width, electric field, and the absorption coefficient. We apply previously developed methods to obtain estimates for μτ in a tin(II) sulfide (SnS) solar cell. We compare three analytic models for the minority carrier collection probability as a function of absorber depth to determine which model most accurately captures the behavior in our devices. For models in which multiple parameters are unconstrained, a random numerical search is used to optimize the fit to experimental QE for SnS. To identify sources of error, we perform a sensitivity analysis by fitting with SCAPS-1D. Our analysis shows that changes in absorption most strongly affect estimates for μτ, highlighting the need to obtain accurate, device-specific absorption data. Further modeling and experimental constraints are required to obtain self-consistent values for μτ that correspond to actual device performance.

The band gap energy of the TiO2 photocatalytic is high at 3.2 eV. Ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation (<388nm) is required for the photocatalytic application. The lowering the band gap energy of TiO2 and enlarging light absorbing area are effective ways to enhance the efficiency of photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the morphology and crystal structure of nanosized TiO2 considerably influences its photocatalytic behavior.

In this study, sodium titanate nanorods were formed using an alkali-treatment and were heat treated at different temperatures. The photoelectrochemical properties of sodium titanate nanorods was measured as a function of heat treatment temperature. The nanorods were prepared on the surface of Ti disk with a diameter of 15mm and a thickness of 3mm. Ti disk was immersed in 5 M NaOH aqueous solution at a temperature of 60 °C for 24 h. Morphology of sodium titanate nanorods was observed using FE-SEM. Crystal structure of sodium titanate nanorods was analyzed using X-ray diffractometer. Photoluminescence (PL) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to evaluate photoelectrochemical properties of sodium titanate nanorods. The thin amorphous sodium titanate layer was formed during alkali-treatment. The sodium titanate layer was changed to nanorods after heat treatment at a temperature of 700 °C. The thickness and length of sodium titanate nanorods obtained at 700 °C were around 100 nm and 1μm, respectively. The crystal structure of sodium titanate was identified with Na2Ti6O13. Above 900 °C, the morphology of nanorods changed to agglomerated shape and the thickness of nanorods increased to 1 μm. The lowest value of PL was obtained at a temperature of 700 °C, while nonalkali treated specimen showed the highest value of PL. EIS revealed that polarization resistance at interface between sodium titanate nanorods and electrolyte was increased with increasing heat treatment temperature.

The size-dependent optical properties of CdSe nanoparticles are desirable in bio-imaging and cell sorting applications because of their tunable photoluminescence in the visible range. Previous studies have already suggested that CdSe QDs could be utilized for pathogen detection by using suitable capping agents to make it biocompatible; however, systematic works on the effect of crystallite size and composition of the nanocrystals are scarce. The present research will be focused on the effect of CdSe crystal size and composition (pure and doped systems) to systematically evaluate its applicability in detecting pathogens, like Escherichia coli (E. coli). Highly luminescent water-soluble CdSe QDs were firstly synthesized in the aqueous phase, in the presence of thioglycolic acid (TGA) as a capping agent. CdSe/TGA molar ratios, reaction temperature, time, and pH were evaluated in order to optimizer the QDs optical properties. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) measurements confirmed the formation of CdSe exhibiting hexagonal structure with an estimated averaged crystallite size in the 4-6 nm range. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses evidenced the formation of CdSe nanocrystals with particle sizes between 3-5 nm. UV-Vis measurements showed a strong exciton peak between 390-400 nm with an estimated band gap of 2.64 eV (bulk: 1.74 eV); additionally, a strong fluorescence peak was observed between 500-550 nm using an excitation wavelength of 400 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses suggested the actual functionalization of the CdSe surface with TGA functional groups. Preliminary results of the CdSe/TGA coupling with the selected bacteria, E. coli, are presented and discussed.

Rutile TiO2 is well known for its ability to “trap” photoinduced electrons at Ti4+ ions and form Ti3+ ions with an unpaired d1 electron. This has been shown experimentally to result in a large family of similar, yet slightly different, Ti3+-related centers that include both intrinsic small polarons and donor-bound small polarons. In these latter centers, the Ti3+ ion is located next to an oxygen vacancy or an impurity such as fluorine, lithium, or hydrogen. These small polarons are easily formed in commercially available bulk single crystals of rutile TiO2 by illuminating oxidized (and nominally undoped) samples at temperatures between 5 and 30 K with sub-band-gap laser light (e.g., 442 nm) or by slight reducing treatments (in the case of hydrogen). Once formed, the ground states of the defects are readily studied at low temperature with magnetic resonance (EPR and ENDOR). Single crystals of rutile TiO2 provide complete sets of angular dependence data, and thus allow detailed information about the ground-state models of the electron traps to be extracted in the form of g matrices and hyperfine matrices. In this review, the differences and similarities of the various Ti3+-related trapped electron centers are described.

We report the investigation of ZnO thin films delta-doped with lithium and phosphorus introduced simultaneously. The films were deposited from high purity ceramic targets of ZnO and Li3PO4 on c-plane sapphire substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. An undoped ZnO film with a low background electron concentration was used as the buffer layer on the sapphire substrate. The doped films were prepared by carrying simultaneous sputtering from the ZnO and Li3PO4 ceramic targets. For uniform doped films, the simultaneous deposition from the ZnO and Li3PO4 was uninterrupted. For the delta-doped films on the other hand, deposition from the ZnO target was uninterrupted while that from the Li3PO4 was interrupted periodically using a shutter. Post-deposition annealing was carried using a rapid thermal processor in O2 at 900 oC for 3 min. Results obtained from photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements at 12 K revealed acceptor-related luminescence peaks at 3.35 eV, possibly due to the transition from exciton bound to a neutral acceptor. The x-ray diffraction 2θ-scans showed a single peak at about 34.4o. Hall effect measurements revealed p-type conductivities with an average Hall concentrations of 3.8 x 1013 cm-3 in uniform doped samples and 1.5 x 1016 cm-3 in delta doped samples. However, in some cases the Hall coefficients had both positive and negative values, making the determination of the carrier type inconclusive. The fluctuation in the carrier type could be due to the lateral inhomogeneity in the hole concentration caused by signal noise impacting the small Hall voltages in the measurements.

In our increasingly digitized and safety conscious society, we tend to shield our children form real contact with the material world and tend to steer them increasingly to only virtual experiences. Appliances are not repaired but replaced. So are materials used in everyday life. As a consequence, we cannot assume experiences with materials which were a given in the past. In this article, we will concentrate on both K-12 and Undergraduate education with examples of the necessity of consciously encountering “materials” in our increasingly digital society, and how students can be taught to realize the properties and necessity of consciously encountering materials. We will draw our examples from the lack of that experience students bring to undergraduate research, and how that deficiency can be remedied.

The wear phenomenon may occur for a variety of work conditions in the material. It causes losses in terms of time and costs in the components which are used for heavy machinery due to its re-pair or even replacement. It is important to select suitable materials that exhibit high-quality weldability and resistance to abrasive wear such as the high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel grade 950A. Therefore, it is necessary to study the wear behavior of this kind of steel after components are joined by multi-pass gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process, specifically on the heat affected zone (HAZ). The aim of this research was to evaluate wear resistance by pin on disc test and hardness on heat affected zone of HSLA steel plates with thickness of 14 mm joined by using GMAW process varying different parameters as wire feed speed and voltage. The influence of microstructural features such as carbide precipitation on wear behavior and hardness was investigated using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that microstructure is modified by the heat input of the welding process, affecting the material properties and causing more susceptibility to wear on the welded area.

Thermo-camera is employed here to analyze kinds of quality abnormal and improve production process during manufacture procedure of silicon-based thin-film solar modules. It shows that thermo-camera device can help engineers to solve problem of production line quickly and accurately, and save the manpower and financial resources at the same time.

The migration retardation of anionic radionuclides, notably I-129, in radioactive waste repositories is one of the most critical factors for improving the performance of engineered barriers. To gain more fundamental knowledge required to make such improvements, this study examined the sorption behavior of iodide ions on calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and hydrotalcite (HT), which act as anion exchangers. CSH was synthesized using CaO and fumed silica, with Ca/Si molar ratios ranging from 0.4 to 1.6. The weight ratio of CSH to HT was 1.0. These solid samples were immersed for 14 days in a 30 mL sample of pure water or 0.6 M NaCl solution, each of which contained 0.5 mM iodide ions with a given liquid/solid weight ratio (10, 15, or 20). Raman spectroscopy studies indicated that the structures of CSH and HT were maintained during the hydration of the solid phase and the sorption of iodide ions. The distribution coefficients for the sorption of iodide ions on CSH and HT ranged from 6 to 13 L/kg for pure water and from 1 to 2 L/kg for NaCl solution. These retardation effects for iodide ions would contribute toward improving the performance of the repository system as most conventional safety assessments assume that iodide ions hardly sorb on engineered barriers such as cementitious materials.

This paper summarizes the work we conducted in recent years on modeling plastic response of metallic alloys and ductile fracture of engineering components, with the emphasis on the effect of the stress state. It is shown that the classical J 2 plasticity theory cannot correctly describe the plasticity behavior of many materials. The experimental and numerical studies of a variety of structural alloys result in a general form of plasticity model for isotropic materials, where the yield function and the flow potential are expressed as functions of the first invariant of the stress tensor and the second and third invariants of the deviatoric stress tensor. Several mechanism-based models have been developed to capture the ductile fracture process of metallic alloys. Two of such models are described in this paper. The first one is a cumulative strain damage model where the damage parameter is dependent on the stress triaxiality and the Lode parameter. The second one is a modification to the Gurson-type porous plasticity models, where two damage parameters, representing void damage and shear damage respectively, are coupled into the yield function and flow potential. These models are shown to be able to predict fracture initiation and propagation in various specimens experiencing a wide range of stress states.

Precise spatial patterns and micro and nanostructures of peptides and proteins have widespread applications in tissue engineering, bioelectronics, photonics, and therapeutics. Optical lithography using proteins provides a route to directly fabricate intricate, bio-friendly architectures rapidly and across a range of length scales. The unique mechanical strength, optical properties, biocompatibility and controllable degradation of biomaterials from silkworms offer several advantages in this paradigm. Here, we present the biochemical synthesis and applications of a “protein photoresist” synthesized from the silk proteins, fibroin and sericin. Using light-activated direct-write processes such as photolithography, we show how silk proteins can form high resolution, high fidelity structures in two and three dimensions. Protein features can be precisely patterned at sub-microscale resolution (µm) at the bench-top over macroscale areas (cm), easily and repeatedly with high-throughput. For instance, periodic, microstructured arrays can be patterned over large areas to form structurally induced iridescent patterns and functional opto-electronic structures. We further demonstrate how photocrosslinked protein micro-architectures can function for the spatial guidance of cells without use of cell-adhesive ligands as biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds. The ease of biochemical functionalization, biocompatibility, as well as favorable mechanical properties and biodegradation of this silk biomaterial provide opportunities for otherwise inaccessible applications as sustainable, bioresorbable protein microdevices.

This article describes feasible and improved ways towards enhanced nanowire growth kinetics by reducing the equilibrium solute concentration in the liquid collector phase in a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) like growth model. Use of bi-metallic alloy seeds (AuxAg1-x) influences the germanium supersaturation for a faster nucleation and growth kinetics. Nanowire growth with ternary eutectic alloys shows Gibbs-Thompson effect with diameter dependent growth rate. In-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) annealing experiments directly confirms the role of equilibrium concentration in nanowire growth kinetics and was used to correlate the equilibrium content of metastable alloys with the growth kinetics of Ge nanowires. The shape and geometry of the heterogeneous interfaces between the liquid eutectic and solid Ge nanowires were found to vary as a function of nanowire diameter and eutectic alloy composition.

We present a novel logic family alternative to classic CMOS logic and its experimental demonstration for digital application of organic electronics. The proposed logic family is a modified version of the complementary pass-transistor logic (mCPL), which allows use of a stronger transistor (in our case the p-FET) to provide more of the current required to switch the capacitance in the device. We report the integration and characterization of this new class of gates and compare them with the equivalent CMOS structures. The characterization of inverters shows improved tolerance to process variation, up to 2.5× better delay, and 1.7× smaller area for the mCPL devices. Comparison of NOR and NAND gates shows 1.8× and 4.1× reduced gate delay. A 3× reduced energy consumption per operation is also simulated. The improved performance of the mCPL design makes it an alternative architecture for logic application of organic electronics.

Portland cement is synthesized from a mixture of limestone and clay at high temperature (1450 °C) via a conventional process (solid-phase synthesis), in which partial fusion of raw materials and the formation of clinker nodules are produced. The clinker is mixed with a small percentage of gypsum and ground together to make the cement. This synthesis process holds the cement industry accountable for 5–8% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The production of a ton of cement emits between 0.62 and 0.97 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, depending on the processing plant. Furthermore, the use of fossil fuels in cement production is another important factor in the environmental impact of this industry. The production of 1 ton of clinker consumes approximately 5.86 GJ per tons of clinker produced in wet processes and 3.35 GJ per tons of clinker produced by dry process. Some researches have reported the possibility to obtain silicate and aluminate cements by alternative synthesis methods, which optimize both time and temperature, such as Pechini method, sol-gel method and microwave assisted method. The combustion methods, another alternative, are chemical redox processes in which the use of chemical precursors and organic fuels at high temperature generate a self-sustaining fastwave. The said wave is characterized by the fact that once the initial exothermic reaction starts, it generates a reaction wave (0.1–10 cm/s) at high temperature (1000–3000 °C) that propagates, in a self-sustaining way, through the heterogeneous mixture which leads to the formation of the solid material. For this reason, and the irreplaceable role of cement in the construction industry, this paper shows the advances in the production of silicates, similar to those found in the Portland cement, by combustion synthesis method.

This paper shows the production of calcium silicates similar to the silicates of Portland cement, by combustion synthesis. Thermal analysis and XRD techniques were used to compare the syhthetized silicates with alite and belite of Portland cement.

Intermetallic titanium aluminides solidifying via the disordered β-phase are of great interest for several high-temperature applications in automotive and aircraft industries. In this paper the thermocyclic oxidation behavior of three β-solidifying γ-TiAl-based alloys at 800°C and 900°C in air, with and without fluorine treatment, is reported for the first time. The behavior of the well-known TNM alloy (Ti-43.5Al-4Nb-1Mo-0.1B, in at.%) is compared with that of two Nb-free model alloys which contain different amounts of Mo (Ti-44Al-3Mo and Ti-44Al-7Mo, in at.%). During thermocyclic high-temperature exposure in air a mixed oxide scale develops on all three untreated alloys. Small additions of fluorine in the subsurface region of the alloys change the oxidation mechanism from mixed oxide scale formation to alumina at both temperatures. The oxidation resistance of the fluorine treated samples was significantly improved compared to the untreated samples.

Medical research has demonstrated the importance of the utilization of stable, fluorescent nanoprobes. The present work addresses the applicability of biocompatible and fluorescent ZnO nanoparticles as probes for detection of pathogens with the aim of achieving extremely low detection limits. For this purpose, ZnO surface must be functionalized for its subsequent interaction with bacterial cellular membrane (coupling), which will allow the corresponding detection and quantification. Herein we will discuss the aqueous synthesis of stable, water soluble and biologically compatible ZnO nanoparticles (NPss) capped with L-glutathione (GSH). The understanding of the interactions between GSH molecules and surface atoms in ZnO QDs became critical to foster the applicability of this nanomaterial in the biomedical and bioengineering fields. In this regard, the GSH/ZnO molar ratios, reaction temperature (40°C and 60°C), time and pH (6-9) became crucial factors to attain suitable tuning of the QDs properties. ZnO/GSH synthesized QDs were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, FT-IR, UV-Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The QDs shape was spherical with a particle size between 80-100nm. The synthesis of ZnO/GSH under different experimental conditions and the corresponding coupling with E. Coli species, are presented and discussed.